first one played post Pigpens passing......

percussion was there

45 years ago today. Tremendous show, was right up front at the rail, thanks to my friend Rob and his father, that got us into the Spectrum early. There were a bunch of guitar strings from Bob and Jerry, on the floor in front of us, as they changed strings on their guitars. Kept those as a memento for years. I had several Dead albums already by that time, so knew most songs, but was floored by the extended Playin'. I remember this show to this day. Saw 4 others in '73, RFK and Fall Spectrum. Such a great show, I'd put this up a best show I ever saw along with 6/10/73.

Really took me to another place!

Beautiful show; stark '73 loveliness rises and sets as gracefully as the sun.

Set 1 has some initial mixing weirdness, like usual, but sorts out well and early. Cumberland smokes, Playin' runs the gauntlet, and all else is workhorse-good.

Set 2 - that most unique of jams - the 22 min so-called "Spanish Jam" - is really something like - Jam > Phil > Spanish (Solea, really) > Jam > Dark Star, the latter a precious but scant 4 minutes. This is a fantastic segue, the Dead at their most classically unhurried. For anyone who is big on Phil, this is it for you. For anyone who doesn't get Phil's take on the bass, play this track.

Great recording of my first Grateful Dead concert. I was 15 years old and my high school English teacher took a group of us to the concert as a field trip! Great teacher, huh?

It's good to hear this again.

This could be the greatest set list ever! Jerry's vocals are solid through out and the Spanish Jam after Truckin moves in directions I've never heard before this show. Definitely on my top 10 list!

One of the standouts of early 73. Jerry is in fine form on his ax, as the band treats Playin' as a tapestry of sound color, winding up in an exquisitely tender stretch which leads with an elegant crescendo into the reprise. The real jamming meat of the show, however, begins at the end of the vocal portion of He's Gone. Jerry jumps into the jam with gusto, and his inspired playing leads nicely into a hot Truckin', but it is the free-form jam after Truckin' that wows. Coming out of a lull in the action, Bob plays a simple, one-chord rhythm pattern. The band join with him, and we're off and running in a jam that seems to come out of nowhere. Eventually this settles into a faster than usual Spanish jam. By the time Dark Star finally arrives, they're all jammed out, so this could be considered a backwards Dark Star in a sense.

This might be the best recording of the Dead's vocals that I have heard at least from the 73 era.
Example -Here Comes Sunshine is pretty concise as far as length wise but the ensemble singing is incredible.
When they get together for the "Nothing's going to bring him back" during He's Gone it is as close as a rock band can get to Gospel singing.

I've only reached Row Jimmy, and already I'm completely enraptured. This show unspools like no other I've heard. What magic.

Who remembers the stage set-up for this show? I recall it looked much larger, and sounded better than anything I've seen before this. It looked like a Wall proto- type, with tall towers of speakers, tie-dye covers, clarity of sound, really impressive. And it had glitches; when they started, after about 20 minutes of noodling, "Bertha" kicks off the show, for about 2 minutes, then PFFFFT! So, they stop, and Bobby steps up to apologize, saying, "Sorry, something's not right, and we want everything to be perfect, so we're gonna fix what's broke, and start over..." This happens 2 more times, same thing about being perfect, ect... then kicks off again, and they don't stop except for a set break until, like 4 hours later!. It was so long, I almost dozed off during "Space", what with the air so filled with smoke, I got contact-high! First Dead show for me, as I lived out in N Montg, County, Red Hill, and going to the "City" was kinda far, we usually went to Allentown Fairgrounds for shows. But this was different: couldn't talk my buddies into going, so I went alone. On the drive home, I wonder, why did I go so far , for country/ western music, and that lo-o-ong 2nd set, Geez, what was that!? Years later, when bootleg CD's started coming in from Holland and Germany, I bought a copy of this very show, and I love it, would give my left nut to go back to that show, and do it right...if only!! Oh well, I was told once, you don't really "get" your 1st show, but then after that, you're hooked, and so it is, and was, and shall be, Long live the Grateful Dead!!

Ahhh the Spectrum we loathed the acoustics but the band always put on great shows throughout the seventies. I don't know how some people remember minute details from a 40+ year old show. I remember walking out exhausted and drained a feeling of contented euphoria a common side affect of a 70"s show. A 2ND LISTEN confirms those feelings. Anyway here is my amusing memory-Their we're 4 or 5 of us I loaded my treasured brass pipe(an antique of 2 years, very old for those days) I passed the duchie to the left but it never came back. Upon investigation my magnanimous unthinking friend passed it on to left. Anyway after a few choice words I pulled out my zigzags and went back to enjoying the show. As God is my witness 4 hours latter I was tapped on the right shoulder their was my pipe fully loaded no less. If you know the Spectrum you could not conceive of the impossibility of my bowl making a circuit of the entire arena-ONLY AT A GRATEFUL DEAD SHOW!
P.S.Left the pipe on the roof of the car in the parking lot after the show it slid off somewhere on Broad street all that's left are the memories.

The best week of 1973 (to me) is 3/24-3/31.

Truckin>jam rips, good Stella.

Philadelphia, Buffalo, Rochester and Springfield are automatically killer.

Totally off the hook! Phenominal would be an understatement!!!!!!!! Love all 73 shows! This was incredible from the word go!

Both the bass and Weir's vocals are very prominent in the mix, the latter somewhat annoyingly so. The first set is merely serviceable, hardly spectacular except for a few moments.

This show seems to have garnered a bit of the attention that it so deserves. The second set He's gone->Truckin'->Jam->Philo Stomp*->Spanish Jam->Space->Dark Star->Sing Me Back Home segue begs for your attention! Some might observe the criminally short DS and thereby dismiss this show. That would be a fool's errand, folks! The aforementioned suite accounts for a solid hour of sweet ear candy. This clean SBD picks up on the enthusiastic crowd at times, and hints at the joyous moments they were undoubtedly experiencing.

As aforementioned, the DS clocks in at only four minutes (the only shorter version that I know of is the actual studio single, released in April of 1968, and clocking in at 2:44). But again, the monster jam(s) leading up to the DS are worth the price of admission alone.

The first set of this night offers great renditions of many classics, including Box of Rain, They Love Each Other, and Loser. The Playin' to close the first set is, as expected, of interest.

I used to be under the impression that the corn-belt tour of February ’73 couldn't be topped, but this show, and the one two days before in Utica give those great February shows a decent run for the money. Of course, later comes the great months of October, November & December. But those are reviews for another time…

One thing I've come to realize over the years is that virtually every show where the boys played The Spectrum deserves respect!


* I wouldn’t necessarily peg this jam segment as a true “Philo Stomp", but I labeled it as such since Phil & Billy display that conversational interplay sometimes known from the Fall of ’72, and carrying over into various shows drizzled throughout ’73 (found into, out of, or during Dark Star or The Other One). Three examples of a true Philo Stomp can be found in the Dark Stars of 10/18/72 & 11/13/72, and The Other One of 10/24/72.

Little did I know going in to this show that the picture I used to pitch it to you all was so appropriate. The picture was of King Ghidorah. This mythical beast was a genetically mutated, lightning breathing three headed dragon from outer space that is capable of interplanetary travel. After paying very close attention to this particular show, I realized the monster in the picture and the show were virtually one in the same. Rarely have I been affected by a show the way I was with this one. I have listened to it many times before, but I don’t think I really heard it until this past weekend. A 31 song powerhouse of mythical proportions.

The first head of this beast consists of the fourteen songs that start the first set, Bertha>>El Paso. Pure swagger in these near flawless renditions of their cowboy rock standards. Right away I noticed Phil and how heavy his shit was this evening. He and Billy are really on point this evening and keeping perfect time. I enjoyed every one of these tunes and Jerry really set the tone during the first solo in BIODTL. He immediately starts trading with Keith and it is ON! I really dig the fact that all of the tunes have very heavy, albeit smaller jams throughout. Even Ten Jed and LLR worked for me here. You can hear the confidence they are playing with coming right through on the recording. Just phenomenal stuff right here.

The second head of this beast starts with Sunshine and ends with MAMU. HCS is damn near perfect and clocking in under ten minutes. Every aspect is present here and pulled off beautifully. The anticipation is palpable and Jerry’s vocals are as good as they ever were. The jam is significant and not drawn out too much. I think this tune needs to be under ten minutes to be right. It is and it is! Killer! Now we come to Playin’ and this would definitely be the highlight of the show if not for the third head of this lightning breathing beast. This one clocks in under twenty minutes and is executed with vigor. Bobby’s vocals are on point and even Donna’s harmonies sound great to me this evening. This one drops in at the three minute mark and immediately throws you in the deep end of the pool. Underwater licks from Jerry melting into a waterfall of harmony accentuated front and center by Phil once again. He is dropping bombs left and right and he downright owns this part of the beast. This is about the point I started to really notice Bobby’s work here. Incredible. The last significant portion of this ‘head” is the China>Rider. It follows a very quick and well executed TMNS, and it seemed like they wanted to get to this one right away. More of the cowboy swagger from the first set is evidenced here right away. This one is about as tight as they come and again, every element is present and accounted for. Everyone contributes and as usual and Bobby’s rhythm really controls this one nicely. They follow this one with one of the finest Big Rivers’ I have ever heard. A dynamite speedball with Jerry breathing lightning the whole time.

Now, the third head of this monster is where the heart of the beast really lies. He's Gone > Truckin' > Spanish Jam > Dark Star > Sing Me Back Home > Sugar Magnolia is a jam worthy of the mythical beast status I have bestowed upon this show. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be Astounding. Right from the jump you can tell there is a little something extra in the air as Phil bounces right along with Jerry so effortlessly. Beautifully patient and tempered, just the way a classic storytelling song should be. Jerry’s first solo is just enough to pick up the pace some, but not too much. They remain mellow and heavy right on through this one and the anticipatory energy is contained very well. The last few minutes are accented really nicely with Jerry doing some great bendy/slidy soloing and trading with Bobby. This fades right into Truckin’. Now this is the part that gets interesting right here. It starts off innocently enough but gets wound and wound and wound with jerry’s unrelenting soloing starting about halfway through this one. Phil ever present in the background pounding away even the most gentile of notes. It backs off ever so slightly with Phil coming to the front more and more every time around. It ends up slowly fading into the abyss with a gentle ease. The transition is one for the ages. Phil slinks around for about the first minute or two of the jam and then the third head of this mythical beast rises once again with Jerry and Billy going full tilt into this one. The work right here by Phil and Jerry is pure jazzy bliss inspired by the speed that Billy is keeping. Full on interplanetary travel going on right here. GD bliss without question. The question is not whether or not they are high right here, but more like how high can they take it? They answer rather quickly as I hear the first few riffs of Spanish jam coming through at about the ten minute mark of this jam. Developed very nicely and executed almost flawlessly. It meanders along and picks up some real steam until it morphs into a very wahwah space journey that lasts only for a few minutes as this is part of the journey, not a stop. Hints of tiger abound, this could only be taking us to one destination that is, Dark Star. With Phil playing the first few notes, the beast takes a moment to stop and look around, but not for long as outer space is not the destination for this one. Played in perfect time, this truncated version of Dark Star has all the makings of a piece of history. Just as quickly as they arrive to the depths of space, they are leaving in the comfort of Sing Me Back Home. This one looks out of place on paper but don’t let that fool you. Just Jerry and few thousand of his closest friends right here being comforted by the wholesome sound of the band. Perfect way to slow it down before the afterburner kicks in with the start of SugarMags. Jerry once again grabs this one by the throat with his soloing and rock star Bobby is in full effect mode. This show concludes with all three heads of this beast swinging wildly and breathing lightning all over the crowd. The finish this one off with a smoking JBG with Keith absolutely crushing this one. Wound nicely and finished off with a bang. Holy shit and the show is over and I am in awe.

I was able to listen to this 31 song bowhemouth twice during this long weekend, and man am I glad I did. I am giving this show my very highest recommendation, which makes it the thirteenth installment of the DDP series. Must Have, Must Listen. No other way to describe this one….Well, unless you like my description which is a genetically mutated, lightning breathing three headed dragon from outer space that is capable of interplanetary travel….Peace

this was my first Grateful Dead concert...!!!

-I can't listen to this recording because my computer is from 2001....I see a black rectangle where you see the songs/times.(and there's no downloadable aud. mp3)
so without hearing this- here is my nearly 40 year memory of the event...
I was a high school kid on a
trip (red barrel?)-I felt wonder-full
the GD had tie-dyes on their speakers.
-the most friendly crowd I'd ever been in..)
Beautiful woman doing that voodoo belly dancing!
the air thick with pot smoke..
Donna playing with her hair...
the band wore plain clothing as if to say -we have better things to do-and we're doing them.
a bubbly Big River-Playing in the Band-a swirling fun ride.
-Grinned wide-at the intro to China Cat-
the "Spanish Jam" (which reminded me of
the "Happy Trails"LP... by Q.S.M.)
then a Dark Star-
I was delighted at its start-and sorry it ended.
a great night!
great folks front and back.
de-light-full

This one doesn't get as much mention as it should. Perfect from start to finish. The post-Truckin' jam in the second set is pure magic jazz. The HCS is perfection and could possibly be my favourite rendition.
Can't emphasize enough how fantastic that first set is on the car stereo on an open country road!

Well. I heard about this show through the GD projects site and I'm not sure what happens after Truckin', but I really liked it. Plenty of body twitching throughout it, and He's Gone was a delight too, but really, that jam leading into DS has that other-worldness that sets one adrift with possibility, notably the possibility that I might, in fact, save this for a night with the headphones.

On household projects because I wanted to hear Jerry and Donna do Sing Me Back Home.

I noticed that this is a remarkable recapture of a truly amazing show. I mean the sound reproduction is excellent. Here exists an abundant delivery of clams and guitar mistakes both Bobby and Jerry. Even Phil makes goofs and occasionally they get lost -- especially in the first set. On a number of songs the band sounds unrehearsed. Nonetheless, it's good stuff pretty much all the way through.

Perhaps my previous review was a bit over the top.

Yet, despite all the muffs there stands a fine champagne taste to this affair. So good, but you just don't throw your glass in the fireplace.

monster setlist,awesome sound quality,band is on an having fun.just great!a 5 star show!

these early spring and late fall 1973 shows are the very things Legends are made of,this one is in the top ten of the year,get it

SHN 25508 (Jay Ashley's SBD) will not stream. The other full SBD (Greg Hamilton - SHN 1216) has no problem. Anyone know what's up with this?

This is the best bass I ever heard in a He's Gone period. The truckin is also immaculate. This is more like a science than music.

What a show! had it for years on cassette now i can really enjoy it! Been stuck on late 73 lately. cant stop listening to 12/6/73 (DARK STAR!) Denver & San Diego etc. Anyway the boys played another great show at THE SPECTRUM!

Unbelievable! A Betty board remastered by Jay Ashley. I had multiple eargasms listening to this. I always say my favorite years are ('74-'77-'78-'89-'90) but I've been lost in '73 lately.

whatta show!!! great sound quality and quite the selection of tunes!

If i had to pick one show that was my favourite, i think it would be this one.
its awsome.

he's gone>truckin'>dark star tease>jam>spanish jam>space>dark star = mega captain crunch

phil is ALL OVER this beast.

one of the best and most unique dead jams in my book.

sing me back home ain't bad either.

gotta fuckin' love '73 baybee!

Losing Ron....WOW

RIP Spectrum

hey skullandroses i have done the same thing, with so many shows on this archive i would find myself trying to listen to like 10 shows a day jumping from decade to decade one after another during my free time, it really is addicting with so much at the click of a mouse. i try to pick two shows i really wanna listen to maybe even a few times just to really absorb it. take it slow, savor the music

Jerry is singing beautifully tonight! This is the best sounding vocals I have heard in a while...the most well sung Row Jimmy I've come across. I'm on a 2 show a day diet right now(trying cut back but you know how it can be) and I know this ain't CSNY, but come on, stories like this are meant to be heard! Nice to have Jerry's mic higher in the mix then Bobby for once too.

Wow I found this today and it Gives me a Steal your Face size Smile. This was the first of many shows for me. ANd gettin a Dark Star for my first was awsome.

I tell you what, this version of Row Jimmy ain't nothing to sneeze at either. Damn fine show.

Considering that they do not play a "slow" song until seven songs in (Row Jimmy), it goes to show that the boys were intent on burning Philly down. A truly stellar show....'nuff said.

Saw them a weel earlier at nassau coll.What a great time to be into the Dead...73 a stellar year. Betty Boards are pristine and near perfect;no make that perfect. To the guy who had a weird reaction to the qualludes he ate...Ludes at a Dead show??!!##%#!??!WTF?!

My best friend insisted that I go to this concert even though I never heard of the Dead. I was new to everything. What a fantastic experience! Truely the best Dead concert I ever went to and I went to alot.Can't wait to download this and take a trip back in time. I don't think I ever heard them sound as good as this concert again. Any true Deadhead will love this concert for sure!

I own alot of tapes (and can KICK myself for being in Ithaca at the time of the famous Barton Hall concert in 1977 and, for some ungodly reason, did NOT attend!) but this concert at the Spectrum was my one and only live experience.

It was, in one word, AMAZING!

The concert was supposed to start at 8 pm, but the band strolled onto stage around 7:30 and started. Truly a marathon, they played until past 1 am, with only a 45 minute break in the middle.

The most poignant moment was during "He's Gone". PigPen had recently died, and his single organ note during each playing of the chorus of this song was deafening in its absence!

I went with a group of my sister's friends (she was at Penn at the time.) One of them was Eric Bazillian - who eventually became the lead guitar player for the Hooters. That night, he told me that he had seen the Dead close to 20 times, and this show was EASILY the best!

This was a tough show. Maybe my 2nd or 3rd. 1st was 2-27-72 Academy of Music. We took the Greyhound bus from NYC out to Heightstown, NJ, and got a ride from our friends dad to the Spectrum. On the bus I got some kind of freek reaction to too many Quaaludes and my feet swelled up. I couldn't hardly stand up. And they itched. True. I explained this drug reaction to my friends Dad and he was cool. I do remember enjoying the music, but it was tough to stand up and boogie....HA HA HA.
Thanks, Cool Gregory & David !!

AA

Check out you tube for some classic Dead video from Sat nite live, Egypt & capital theater..while some of the feed isn't that clear it's still great to see

I've been really studying '73 this last few weeks and i gotta say that this show flat out RIPS!!! Everyone is firing on all 8 and i'm loving Keith especially on this session. TLEO motown style. There is a Bertha out there with this kind of feel but i can't remember the date. Anyone? (roger@runninfuny.com) Well, that's it just had to express that thought.

Correction, not that it matters that much, but noticing that Ron McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals; born September 8, 1945, died March 8, 1973). Given that, I was at the show in 1972. I was at this one as well, since after the 1st I always saw the band when they came to town.

I wished I'd heard a year ago...great show.


Jim

Every time I think I have made up my mind that I like '74 better, I come upon another '73 show that blows my mind like this one.
Makes me wish I was born 20 years sooner.

spectrum show's are always fun to me, wasn't there, youll have to trust my ear. there are a series of 73-74 mega-shows that take the spotlight, eg RFK, Kezar, Freedom Hall, But lesser knowns like this night are excellent, and i feel real lucky that I can hear them, thanks archive and co. The don't ease is great, also played a few other times that month, Phils sounds great on Box of Rain, may be the best version out there other than the hissy sole 70 version, Donna isn't over whelming. Strong Row Jimmy, Sing me back home! and who doesn't like waving the flag?!??! Really the TLEO is at it's peak.
Phil's voice is great, don't listen to any critizism, sure he's no American Idol, but he is essential to the dead sound and harmony, Don't you find it ironic that Phil's got the deepist voice yet he's often singing the highest harmony part, while Jerry with the highest voice sings low, and Bobby right in the middle, pricless.

email me at fieldhouse11277@hotmail.com happy to share with good listeners

donna is flat, flat, flat but its donna and she still puts down a good show. great songs and everyone else is on. Jack straw is unreal, they just take off and fly and dont look back.

Playing and China>Rider are sick.... In a great great year this really stands out. Hard to put your finger on any stand out songs apart from whats mentioned as it is all really smoking. Truckin on is rippin and the Spanish jam into Dark Star bring this to a 5.

For the kind brother who noted how short Dark Star is while yes technically this is true, how many 31.5 min Spanish Jams have you heard lead into DS? All in you are looking at well over 40 mins of DS if you include everything... Perfectly lysergically drenched any more and we all would need a medic on site.

9/8/73 is another fun show and the U ILL 2/22/73 is definately not to be missed if you like this.

Another solid '73 show. Very fluid and in sync. All around they sounds awesome. Almost like its straight out of a studio with much better beats!

Damn, just stepped away from my desk came back to the jam and got lost in what they were playing. Just realized They Love Each Other. Flat out SICK

another one

another one

Just a point of note: This Dark Star is not short. The way it is tracked makes sense, dont get me wrong, but the monstrous jam that precedes it on the setlist has DS themes throughout. If I remember properly, this one's a banger.

A gift, thank you. Perfect sound. Nice show. '73. Wow. Phil's harmonies in ll rain, priceless.

Shortest Dark Star I've heard in the 72-74 era.

I want to thank The Grateful Dead for an amazing birthday present. Maybe in a cozmic way this is why many years later I would quit many jobs to follow such an amazing Band. In regards to the quality of this show I give it a 5 star rating. The mix is right and the vocals are shinning. Here Comes Sunshine really stands out with amazing jams. The rest of the performance is solid. It's well worth the download.

1.3 Gigs of pure heaven!